Why Tottenham should fear this West Ham player ahead of clash

Tottenham should be concerned about Dimitri Payet returning to top form for West Ham.

Spurs host the Hammers on Saturday in the Premier League and face a team that have made a poor start to the season.

Slaven Bilic’s side were expected to challenge for a European spot and follow up their seventh-placed finish last campaign, but are currently just one point above the relegation zone in 17th.

The drop in form of the club’s midfielder Payet has been a huge reason behind their underwhelming beginning.

Payet, 29, was West Ham’s star man last season and has failed to match those standards once again.

He made 44 appearances in all competitions during the 2015/16 campaign, scoring 15 goals and supplying 17 assists.

In comparison, Payet has not been able to repeat his success in front of goal and has scored just two goals in 11 appearances this season, contributing five assists.

Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs should be cautious about Payet’s threat though despite his mediocre league start.

He showed his quality in the international break in France’s 2-1 win against Sweden in a World Cup qualifier, assisting Paul Pogba for an equaliser and then scoring a decisive winner.

Spurs are without a win in their last seven games in all competitions and should be boosted by playing a struggling West Ham side, but need to be wary that they possess a world-class player.

Payet is bound to reach his best levels at some stage and will hope to repeat his heroics from the European Championships in the summer, where he scored three goals en route to a defeat to Portugal in the final.